Some 17 May Remarks

I am watching the Celtic-Magic game. The Magic have burned it up from 3-point land and it is 81-66 Magic with only 8 minutes left in the game. The Celtics did come within 3 but the Magic had an answer to every Celtic charge. This game is all but over.

Oh well; where Orlando will in all likelihood get beat by Cleveland, they are in better position to at least win a game or two in that series.

Pierce just missed 2 free throws; it has been that kind of game.

Update: the Magic are up 95-78 with 3:01 to go; this one is over. Ooops, make it 99-78.

Other comments

I looked at today’s letters to the editor. There were letters from readers that said that it was good to question evolution, that creationism ought to be taken seriously.

Of course, the Journal Star was correct to publish the letters, no matter how ignorant, stupid or misguided they are.

All one has to do is to look at every major science department or at every major lab; whether evolution happened is not in question. If there was any justice at all, these creationist morons would be denied the benefits of modern medicine, much of whose development depends on the principles of evolution.

Bradley Graduation It ran well over 3 hours despite the graduate school moving its graduation to another time.

The graduation was, for me, very painful. The only part I enjoyed was, believe it or not, Representative Aaron Schock’s speech. It was the right length, and I thought that he gave good advice.

The Journal Star has the story here:

“It’s worth remembering that the best human qualities are widely dispersed. Like wisdom, neither side can claim to have them all,” Schock told the 900 graduating seniors and thousands of their family members and friends in attendance.

“When you choose your friends, what matters most is goodness of character and the way they treat others, especially the most defenseless,” he said. “Kindness, decency and honor have no political affiliation, and in a free country, they never will.” [...]

“The conventional view is that you’ve got to draw lines – between this group and that, between the ones you talk with and the ones you talk about. But nothing positive ever comes of that attitude, and besides, it’s boring – a sure way to narrow your thinking, close off other ideas, and turn away goodwill.

“The fact is, you can go a lifetime admiring someone and trying to be more like them without ever knowing or much caring what their politics are.” [...]

“Some of my new colleagues in the Congress have been around a long time. One senator was there when Harry Truman was president. I’ve gotten to know one member who was also elected when he was still in his 20s and will soon mark his 83rd birthday,” Schock said.

“It’s not hard to suppose that I came into office with a different perspective on many things. And I know that part of my job is to let an old institution hear the voice of a new generation.”

Note that one of the speakers who went on before Schock went on and on and on and on…so when Schock went on he said something to the effect that “I made it through Bradley in about half the normal time, and so to honor that my speech will be at half the usual length”. He also said that people were there to celebrate their graduation and not to listen to long speeches; the crowd erupted in cheers.

Here is a link to Schock’s speech.

Later, despite requests that individual graduates not get cheers, it happened anyway. In fact, there was a request from the podium to “keep the graduation dignified” but that went unheeded.

Also, a request went out for the undergraduates to quit playing with a beach ball that they were bouncing around.

In short, this ceremony reminded me a bit of Animal House.

There was part of me that actually was happy about the boorish behavior of the graduates and the parents; at least the upper administration got a peek at what we have to deal with on a daily basis.

Social-Political Commentary
In my community, there is one high profile person that is mostly popular. Personally, though I don’t see this person as evil, I just don’t like the person.

But because this person is so popular with others, I find myself feeling resentment beyond anything that this person has done to affect me.

I then remembered: “I’ve felt this before”.

I felt this way during the first 7 years of Ronald Reagan’s presidency (though I like what he did toward the end).

No, Reagan wasn’t evil (in the way that I see Dick Cheney) nor was he as incompetent as President George W. Bush. But I just didn’t “get” his wild popularity with much of the public; I saw him as a bit of a dim-witted buffoon who told stories and did little else. I admit that the book Role of a Lifetime helped me understand more.

So, this helps me understand some of the bitterness that some feel toward President Obama.

True, some of it is race (among a percentage of people), and some of it is anti-intellectualism. But my guess is that much of it stems from the fact that some who don’t support him just don’t see why he is so popular with so many.

Like him or not, President Obama has style and charisma and I happen to like him because he is an intellectual and because he put people like Stephen Chu (Nobel laureate in physics) in his cabinet.

To me, he is the anti-Reagan; I once said that I hope that President Obama does for smart people what President Reagan did for dummies. President Reagan made it cool to be stupid and ignorant, and hopefully President Obama will make it cool to be smart and informed.

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